Worries of a Parent
by GKmon
Summary: ONESHOT. Danny's own daughter won't talk to him about her secret life. When she comes home injured, he begins to wonder about why she won't tell him. Based on a comic concept that will be posted on my deviantART account.


Danny sighed, as the clock struck ten. He looked up from the kitchen table to the front door. It wasn't locked, but it hadn't been opened in several hours. He was worried.

_She should have been back by now_, he thought, listening to the rain pound on the window. _She knows better than to show up this late for curfew without calling to let us know. Where is she?_

"Dad?"

He turned around. His sons, Lucifer, Kevin, and Junior, were standing in the doorway to the living room, staring at him with a look of concern.

"Is everything alright?" Lucifer continued.

Danny shook his head. "Have you heard from your sister at all?"

"Not since after school," Kevin answered. "She took off when we left and said she'd be home later, but she didn't say why she left or where she was going."

Danny groaned. _That's been the excuse for almost a week now,_ he thought. _What has been going on?_

"Dad, are you _sure_ you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just... go to bed, you three."

The boys reluctantly obeyed and ascended the stairs. Halfway up the stairs, both Junior and Kevin glanced back nervously at Danny before continuing on up.

Danny simply watched them, before moving into the living room and sitting on the couch.

_Just what has she been up to?_ He mused. _And why won't she tell me?_ His thoughts wandered to his sons. _Do they know? Are they helping her keep … whatever it is, a secret from me? If they are, why?_

Before he could wonder any more, he heard the front door open. _Oh, God, PLEASE let it be her._

He half-ran back to the kitchen. Sure enough, his daughter was there, but she was far from her normal, confident, standing-up-straight self. In fact, she was hunched over and leaning on the table for support, her clothes torn and bloodied.

"KATIE!" He screamed. "My God, what the hell happened?!"

Katie simply looked up, her eyes showing just how exhausted she was. "Dad, I..." She flinched suddenly and clutched her side.

He rushed to her. "C'mon, let's get you taken care of!" He put his arm around her waist and began to lead her upstairs.

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"Ouch!"

"It's going to sting for a while, Katie, but the less you try to resist it, the less it'll actually hurt afterwards."

"I know, but that doesn't help the fact that it still stings."

They were in the bathroom. Katie was now in clean pajamas, and Danny was carefully applying bandages to her multitude of cuts. The sink was now a soft shade of pink from washing the blood off of her arms.

_Damn it all,_ he thought. _What happened to her tonight? What could have caused her to come home like this? What would... Wait._ Something had just occurred to him. _Has she been...?_

"Kate?" He began tentatively.

Katie looked up. Her face was covered in tear streaks; she'd cried several times due to pain on their way upstairs, and her eyes still looked as though they could well over at any minute.

"Is there something you need to tell me?"

The teen-aged girl looked away and answered in an unconvincing manner, "No."

"Are you sure?" He put his hand on her shoulder and crouched down to her eye-level. "I'm more than willing to listen if there's something bothering you."

Katie squeezed her eyes shut, forcing a fresh stream of tears down her face. "I don't want to talk about it," she said, in an increasingly shaky voice.

Danny sighed. There'd be no getting through to her if she was going to be stubborn about it; she was like her mother in that respect.

"Alright, then." He stood up. "You'd best get some sleep, though."

Katie still didn't look at him. She simply left the bathroom, with a barely audible, "g'night," and slowly made her way to her room, putting her hand against the wall in case she lost her balance, still clutching her side.

Danny looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. _Why won't she tell me?_

He eventually took the same advice he'd given his daughter and went to his own room.

Sitting on the edge of the king-sized bed, he put his face in his hands. _Doesn't she trust me?_

"Danny?"

He jumped at the mention of his name. Turning around, he replied, "Sam? I didn't think you were still awake."

"I wasn't," she answered somewhat groggily. "Do you realize how much noise you make when you come in here?"

He cringed. "I... I didn't mean to wake you, I swear."

"I know, I know." She sat up and inched over to his side. "Now what's the matter, ghost-man?"

Danny looked up at the mention of his almost-constantly changing nickname. "Nothing," he answered, nervously.

"Oh, please, even an idiot could see something's bugging you."

He heaved a sigh. "Well, let's just say, for starters, I think I'm beginning to understand how my parents felt before they knew the reason I'd take off and be gone for hours at a time."

"Oh? How so?"

"It's _Katie_. I think she's... well... I think she's been staying out late fighting ghosts. It wouldn't surprise me if she's also a halfa. But... but she won't even talk to me about it. She barely even looks at me, anymore. Tonight, she came home looking like she'd been mowed over, and still wouldn't talk to me. If she's... Oh, God damn it, if she gets into a fight with a ghost more powerful than she is... Oh, God..." He planted his face firmly once again in his hands, his breathing quite heavy.

Sam looked at her husband, concern blanketing her face. It was the first time in years that she'd seen him break down like this.

She placed one hand on each of his shoulders and whispered, "Danny, _it's going to be okay!"_

"B-but..."

"Danny, she's more like you than you realize. She'll be okay. When and if she feels ready to talk about it, or if she needs help, you'll probably be the first one she comes running to."

He looked back at her uncertainly.

"Did your parents force you to tell them? Did Jazz come stamping up to you demanding an explanation after she found out? No. They waited until _you_ were ready to talk about it. That's all we can do for Katie, now. But believe me, she'll _be okay._ And she'll talk to you when she feels ready."

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Hours later, Sam was once again asleep, but Danny was still lying awake. Sam's words had brought him a small amount of comfort, and yet his daughter's reluctance to talk to him about whatever she'd been up to was still nagging at his mind.

_What if she doesn't ever feel ready to talk about it? What if she can't tell me? What if she gets killed before she even gets a chance? What am I supposed to do, then? And do the boys know? Why wouldn't they tell me? Was Kevin lying earlier when he said he didn't know where she went? Where would she have gone? What would she have-_

"Dad?"

Danny sat up. Katie was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame in the same pained fashion she had displayed earlier.

"Hey, Kate, what's up?" he asked.

"Dad, I..." She took a few steps into the room, her hand pressing against the door for support. "Dad, I was thinking..."

She'd gotten past the door by now; she was wobbling a little, but it didn't seem likely that she would fall over. And for the first time in hours, days even, she looked him in the eye.

"Can I talk to you?"

His eyes widened. Finally, he smiled.

"Of course."


End file.
